Robert Eisner, in Journal of Economic Literature (Dec. 1988), 1313 21st Ave. S., Ste. 809, Nashville, Tenn. 37212-2786.
Most Americans regard the gross national product (GNP) as the basic gauge of the nation's economic progress. But Eisner, president of the American Economics Association, writes that many specialists believe that the official GNP figures are deeply flawed.
The GNP is calculated from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA), a kind of national...